1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surface inspection method and device of a vehicle body surface with a coating.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, as a technique for inspecting the vehicle body surface for coating flaws, it has been known to have an imaging device, such as a video camera, receive a specular reflection light which is irradiated on the coating surface by means of a light irradiation device so as to form an image. A processing device then processes the image to detect flaws (for example, see Japanese Patent Public Disclosure No. 62-233710). This is because the coating surface can be treated as a smooth specular surface. In this case, generally, visible light with a wavelength of 380-780 nm is used as the irradiation light.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,128, another type of inspection device is disclosed.
However, the conventional way of inspecting the coating surface is disadvantageous in that the formed image loses clarity when a specific color of the coating, such as a white base coating, is used. As a result, it is difficult to detect flaws in the coating with a desirable quality.